WOW!

I have some pictures which I'll post later, but let's get to the dyno sheet scan first..

As many have suspected, the stock air filter works the best. The K&N at one of the peak runs, took away almost 10 HP!

The car sounds like a beast with the K&N and the exhaust mod though =) He ran the tests in second gear up to 6K RPM which is about 80MPH.

I'll post pics later, and also--

There was a guy with a 99 civic before me with a few mods like an AEM intake and some headers. He was pushing 170HP =)

 

So bottom line, I'm pushing roughly 175HP and 200 something torque.

I didn't get to test with the new MAF, and, still everyone, why is my 0-60 9 seconds, and why can't I beat an ES?

 

there's something up with those numbers,...seem kinda low... what year is your LS400?

 

Hey Lvangundy:

Out of curiousity are you running K&N drop-in or cone filter without any airbox?

Chu...

 

Was the civic an Si? If it wasn't, maybe one of those "few mods" was a motor swap.

 

As in the title it's a 1990.

145,000 miles.

K&N was not in an airbox, but there 2 cold fairs running onto the engine bay so it's not a heat issue. The stock airbox works best with the MAF sensor.

I still think my torque convertor is really worn out, my MAF may also be worn out (waiting to test a new one) and I'm having problems with my torque master plugs making small mis-fires.

 

for the 1990 version, is that the one with 250hp out of the engine?

176 is 70% of 250, sound about right for the auto tranny right?

 

your dyno numbers appear correct...

however doing 0-60 in 9seconds does not... you'd need much less power than 176rwhp to run that slow of a time...

it PROLLY has something to do with your transmission or torque converter... if your TC slips really bad in certain spots or when your car is launched it could cause the bad times...

might as well use it as a reason to upgrade your TC

 

Lee,

First off, I seriously doubt it is your torque converter. Other than the lockup clutch there are NO friction components to wear out. In some very high powered race cars running high rpm/hard launch starts... the converter case can "balloon" but this does not happen in an application such as yours.

The power, while not as much as hoped, is in line with the stock car. The converter holds the torque and power just fine as shown. Unfortunately, what your poor acceleration points to is a tranny that is slipping in the lower gears. Your power should give you a stock 8 second 0-60. Slipping gears and slow shifting will easily cost the extra second. It may not be bad enough to require a rebuild just yet but remember if this is what is happening any aggressive driving will hasten its demise

You may want to try to locate a used tranny or consider a quality rebuild. If your future plans include MORE power you may want to contact SRT or Level 10 about a stronger than stock rebuild.

BTW, thanks for having your car dyno'd and posting the results. I do have a question for you... how did the dyno operator keep the car in 4th gear from 1500rpm to redline under full power without it downshifting??? Did he lock up the torque converter?

 

I'm not so sure it's the transmission , but you guys have more knowledge about this anyway..

I don't notice it slipping in any gears at all, slipping as in the engine revving when a shift occurs and not catching the next gear. It does not do that.

But doesn't a bad torque convertor explain why I can't just floor it and chirp the tires like I used to be able to? Isn't that a function of the TC (or at least an after market one?) My stall speed is still at 1800-1900 RPM. And even if I perform a power brake launch, holding the brakes until TC locks up, and floor it I still cannot chirp the tires!

Oh and the car was kept in second gear the whole time. In "2".

I think he did one run in "D" with overdrive off so it was able to reach 3rd gear with the K&N installed.

I'll post pics soon, lazy to get camera.

 

Another observation I have while the K&N is in (still haven't put stock airbox back in) is that it KILLS my gas mileage. That's why I posted a few months back about getting 200 miles to a tank etc.

Driving around with the stock filter in and for a few days with the K&N it's like the gas is leaking.. LOL

 

Automatic transmission gears are planetary. They use bands and clutches to hold them in gear.

Each gear requires one planetary set. This is a ring gear, a center gear and 3 or 4 planetary gears between them in a compact arangement. If you hold the ring gear stationary the planetary gears rotate within it and create the gear effect. This is done with a band. If you allow the ring to rotate and hold the planetary gears to it the power mearly passes through it. This is done with a clutch pack.

If the both the band or clutches are not engaged then NO power is transmitted IE neutral. If these parts slip some power is LOST, the more they slip the more power is lost.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/automatic-transmission.htm

Now it is possible that the stator has failed but the car would drive dramatically different. You can try another torque converter as that is cheaper than a rebuild but don't get your hopes up.

As far as the stock airbox hurting gas mileage

I have no explanation... maybe user error

 

So those belts in the transmission are always going to move, they just may be slipping very slightly enough to lose transfer power to the wheels...i see.

OH, no Jbrady! Not the stock airbox ruining gas mileage..the K&N kills my mileage!

ok I really gotta get the camera..LOL

 

PICTURES

 

pics